Wednesday, October 12, 2011

For Directors, Staffing Opportunity Right Under Your Nose

If you're a director of either rehabilitation or nursing you may be missing a great opportunity to recruit experienced professionals right under your nose. I'm talking about your travelers.

For those directors who use contract professionals to help fill their health care needs these people, termed travelers because they travel from one assignment to another under contract, are prime opportunity to recruit them to come on board as permanent workers.

Of all the places the Traveler and I have been to we only had one director who tried to recruit her as a permanent employee. This person was also probably the best of the directors the we have dealt with.

Experienced travelers usually are able to hit the ground running at a new facility because they have had so many different experiences that they can draw on. Usually, the only set back to hiring a contract worker
is that the contract company may have a buy out clause. By this I mean for the facility to hire the worker full
time the contract company that the traveler works for wants compensation for the loss of the contractor.

As a director of rehabilitation or nursing you need to be aware of what your traveler's contract stipulates.
Sometimes a contractor can work his or her way out of the contract buy-out clause merely by working a
second assignment with the current company.

Directors in general do not like to hire contractors because they cost more than a permanent employee.
You need to gauge what the cost of hiring is versus the loss of income because of not having a person
to treat the patient.

Frequently, directors do not do the direct hiring of contractors. That may be the job of someone else such
as an area supervisor. But the director will usually get the blame when the budget for workers exceeds
profits.

But you can help reduce this by trying to recruit the traveler. How would you do this? First, you start by
telling them the great benefits working for the rehab or nursing facility would give them such as health
care, paid time off (which they don't usually get with a staffing company), as high a pay as  you can offer,
other benefits such as free memberships to area gyms or other activities.

Then, you might want to be an ambassador for the town you are in. Tell them about the great events, the
quality of life, restaurants and shopping and cultural activities.

Finally, find out what interests the traveler. What are they looking for? What are they traveling? It's not all
about the money. Also, and this is very important, make them feel like a part of the group. Introduce them
at your first weekly meeting.

Often, the Traveler gets to a new facility and most people did not even know she was coming. At the first
weekly meeting to discuss the patients and the progress or lack of it they are making, she is never introduced. If it wern't for the nametag no one would know who she was.

Just remember, if you are short on health care workers at your facility, your best pool to recruit from may
be as close as your contractor. Moreover, even if they are not interested in hiring on they can say your facility was the best they have ever been in and recommend it to others.